Barcelona clinched a third straight El Clasico win on Sunday, as it came away with a 2-1 home victory over Real Madrid on La Liga matchday 26.
This edition of El Clasico had everything, from world-class performances to tense-filled moments. Real Madrid opened up the scoring in the early stages of the fixture thanks to an own goal from Ronald Araujo, which was the first open play goal that the Catalan side allowed at home in La Liga this season.
Sergi Roberto managed to put Barca on the scoreboard with a goal right before halftime. A dramatic goal from Franck Kessie in the final minutes of the contest turned out to be all that Xavi’s squad needed to secure the win on Sunday.
Barcelona now holds a 12-point lead atop the La Liga standings with 12 matches remaining on its league schedule. While many are claiming that the La Liga title race is all over now, Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez is not celebrating just yet.
“No, because there are 12 matches left,” Xavi said after the match. “It's a very important victory in a Clasico, it's well deserved, we were better, we dominated, we created more clear chances. … It's not definitive. We don't feel like champions. It's a step forward, and I'm very happy for the players. There is an extraordinary atmosphere. What they do is underappreciated.
“They are playing an extraordinary league. They are players who suffer, and I am very proud of the way they play, how they give their all on every ball.”
Xavi also took some time to touch on just how his team was able to make it three wins in a row in El Clasico.
“I think one of the keys has been that we have minimized losses,” Xavi said. “We didn't give away transitions. We were responsible, we dominated in many phases. Real Madrid is powerful. In the second, we suffered. But we have to be very satisfied.
“It's a fair winner, we were better. The other day they dominated us, today we dominated them.”
The March international break has now arrived. Barcelona will return to action on April 1 with a La Liga away fixture against Elche.
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